Re: [bolger] Digest Number 843

On Saturday, January 26, 2002, at 05:20 AM, Phil Smith wrote:

> Second irritating warning: If you are planning to hook your GPS up to an
> auto pilot make sure you use a point about twenty feet from the bouy or
> mark or, in San Francisco's case, a bridge abutment, for your waypoint.

In the case of the Golden Gate south tower you might want to make that
100 feet... the strange attraction of the south tower has become a local
running joke. It somehow frequently causes nearby boats (especially
racers with spinnakers up) to lose control and be drawn into contact
with the base of the tower... to the dismay of the owners and crews and
the subsequent profit of repair yards.

I wonder if other bridge towers in areas of strong tide and wind might
not have similar "magic"?

Tom K